OK, so this may be too late to help any of you, but I thought I'd post it nonetheless. Our New Beginnings isn't until next week, what with the change in presidencies and everything, and we've finally got everything planned enough for me to share.
First of all, prior to being in charge of the night, I could not have told you the difference between New Beginnings and YW in Excellence other than the time of year it was held, and that incoming Beehives come to New Beginnings. It always seemed like we were covering the same stuff over and over again. So I poured over the handbooks and realized that New Beginnings is easy. Seriously, it's a night that practically plans itself.
New Beginnings is an introduction to the entire YW program. It's a chance for you to explain things to the incoming Beehives, refresh things for the parents, and talk about important events coming up in the year. So in your hour, hour and a half, long program, you have to explain the different classes with symbols and statements of purpose, Personal Progress, the YW theme, the 2010 Mutual theme, Girls camp, Youth Conference, blah blah blah. Once I put in everything we needed to talk about, there was only five minutes for each topic. How people fit in elaborate skits I have no idea.
Most of our night will be short speeches on each of the topics, but we did want a theme to wrap everything around, and the obvious choice was the 2010 Mutual theme,
"Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest"What with the winter Olympics on our televisions every night, we read "strong" and "courage" and immediately thought we should do something to an Olympic theme.
Or theme for the night is "Courage: Is it in you?" which is a play on the gatorade slogan. We're planning on decorating the tables with gatorade bottles with the labels replaced with that mutual theme. To reference the Olympic theme, each speaker will run into the room carrying a torch, and pass it on to someone else on the program, and then we'll give the girls little gold medals as a keepsake of the night. You guys know how I love my crafty goodness, so I thought I'd share how I made them.
The torches:
The base is a cheap wooden candlestick I got at Michael's, painted gold and turned upside down.
To make the flame I copied (very roughly, you'll notice) the shape of the YW torch onto a piece of cardboard, leaving a tab to glue onto the base, and cut it out. Fold the tab over. Then cover with glue and glitter. To make the flame effect, I used three different colors of glitter, which just means I glued and glittered three different times.
Cover the tab up with a piece of paper.
This isn't super sturdy, so store carefully. It only has to last one night, right?
The medals:
Super simple. Michael's had these wooden disks in the same aisle as the candlestick. I painted them gold, stamped the word "courage," then glittered around the edge.
I cut a piece of ribbon long enough to hang around my neck, and then stapled both edges to the back. I'd recommend stapling in a criss-cross pattern so the ribbons don't pull out.
One of my goals as President was to not overcomplicate things, and I think the big nights like New Beginnings and YW in Excellence are the first things to grow beyond what they need to be. I think with just those few little touches, we'll have a fun night that still focuses on the goals of the year.
Very cool. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeletesounds like a great night!
ReplyDeleteIncoming as in 11 year olds who will be coming in this year or Beehives that have just came in the last year??? New beginnings have been mistakenly used in the past for 11 year olds who will be going into YW the following year but on LDS.org it tells us who is invited and it is only the YW who are presently in YW, their parents and the leaders. It shouldn't be planned around the incoming YW....but I'm sure you already knew that. Just wanted to clarify what the policy says as it is a common mistake. Love the ideas with the gold medals. Very cool. Julie
ReplyDeleteI read that same section Julie, and while it didn't say to invite the 11 yr olds, it also didn't say not to. It just give one brief sentence about YW, their parents, and leaders.
ReplyDeleteI view it as a good opportunity to ease that transition and alleviate fears. Some girls have a really hard time coming into YW, and this gives them a chance to learn about things before they're thrown in.
It never made a ton of sense to me to wait until they're 12, because then they'll already have a year of practice under their belts before anything gets properly explained to them.
I guess this is one of those times where it's up to local leadership.
Please clarify - where exactly can guidance be found about whether or not 11-yr-olds are supposed to be invited. I am not currently serving in YW, but I remember a few years ago when I was, the 11-yr-olds were invited. This year, my 11-yr-old daughter, who turns 12 in two weeks, was told that she could not come because it was only for girls who are already in YW. In a nearby Stake her cousin, who doesn't turn 12 until October, went this last week. My daughter is hurt. I would like to show her something "official" so that she understands why our Ward didn't invite her (or the 5 other girls turning 12 this year - all of whom make the cut-off for going to YW camp). I am trying to keep it positive for her and pointing out that she will get to go to six years of New Beginnings as a YW, and many, many other activities, and that it's better not to be bitter or hold a grudge or allow yourself to feel offended. BUT it would be nice to be able to show her in writing where it says our Ward is following the guidance of our leaders.
ReplyDeleteHere's the link:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lds.org/pa/display/0,17884,6903-1,00.html
The statement in it's entirety reads:
"Who Is Invited to New Beginnings?
Young women, their parents, and priesthood and Young Women leaders are invited to New Beginnings."
Later in the section discussing the program it lists as an option:
"Recognition of young women who have turned 12, moved into the ward, or joined the Church in the past year"
That's about it. There's enough there so that if someone is really strict they can assume it's 12 and up, no exceptions. I've never seen it done that way, but there are a lot of ways of doing things in this world.
Personally, I think it's super beneficial to give the girls an official introduction prior to turning 12, but local leadership gets the say on this one.
Item 10.8.3 from the new Handbook states: "New Beginnings is an annual event for young women and their parents, priesthood leaders, and Young Women leaders. YOUNG WOMEN WHO WILL REACH AGE 12 IN THE COMING YEAR ARE ALSO INVITED TO ATTEND WITH THEIR PARENTS."
ReplyDelete